Chad’s Ministry of Health announced that 68 people have died from cholera in the eastern part of the country since the outbreak was reported in a Sudanese refugee camp in late July.
اضافة اعلان
Tajeddine Mohammed Al-Amin, the ministry’s media director, said: “Since the first cholera case was reported in the Dougui refugee camp, the total number of infected has reached 1,016 as of today (Tuesday).”
He told AFP that some of the infected have recovered, some were hospitalized, and 68 have died.
Chadian authorities declared the cholera outbreak in late July after recording 4 deaths and 42 suspected cases in the camp.
Cholera is usually accompanied by severe diarrhea caused by consuming food or water contaminated with bacteria. It is easily treatable through rehydration, but it can be fatal within hours if treatment is unavailable.
The United Nations explained that the “rapid spread” of cholera is due to the “large influx” of Sudanese refugees into camps and towns in eastern Chad, where they live “without adequate sanitation or drinking water.”
The Wadi region in eastern Chad hosts around half a million refugees who fled the war in Sudan, where the army has been fighting the Rapid Support Forces since April 2023.
Sudan, the third-largest country in Africa, is one of the hardest-hit countries globally by cholera, with more than 2,400 deaths recorded over the past year in 17 of its 18 states, according to UNICEF.
Since the start of the year, around 20 African countries have faced cholera outbreaks, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria.
(Agencies)
